Andross: Social Theory From the Minority
by Thraxz
Summary: Andross explains his view of the world (of Starfox 64). While not truly dramatic, Andross' essay is part biography and part social commentary. I'm trying some high-brow writing for once.
1. Chapter 1

To understand my true motives would mean that you have lived my life. To endure to the unbridled contempt of the many and the indifference of the few sounds easier than it is. A lifetime of scorn and ridicule renders one disillusioned. Two outcomes stem from that kind of situation. One leads to limitations, the other, leads to the pertinacious desire to break them. The vast majority fall into the former category. Find a truly oppressed minority and you will nary find a one of them with serious delusions of grandeur about their lot in life. Furthermore, you will not likely find a person with aspirations far above that of the most basic existence. The members of my family were filled with such desires as simply wanting to live out their lives, form a family and make a good enough living to provide for their children. Mine was not significantly different from the norm. Fortunately, my outlook was somewhat different.

_Through extensive rumination, I have concluded that the true culprit for minorities' lack of desire for advancement lies within two of society's idiosyncrasies. _

I use the softened term, idiosyncrasies, rather than, say, blatant prejudice because I realize that the majority of people of all walks of life are equally ignorant and/or duped by their governors. Anyone and everyone can relate to that. A simple way to prove this is to ask oneself, how often do I find myself saying/thinking/insinuating that someone else is stupid/dumb/inferior? If that person is truthful with him/herself, they will find that they do. More often than they care to remember. Now, imagine that every other person in the world thinks the exact same way, except, towards different people. It is easy to stipulate that virtually everyone who has ever existed has now been labeled stupid. The first quirk of society that contributes to minority underachievement is the society's relentless accusations of superiority. Virtually all people, at some point in their lives, have at least a fleeting thought similar to, "You never see (insert race here) getting arrested for drive-by shootings or beating up their wives." The extent that these types of thoughts pervade an individual's choices in life varies. The effect that they have on society is steady and predictable. If they occur at all in a society, the 'inferior' race is the group that is most often the target of such oversimplified thought. The second oddity of the social structure is that the race made out to be inferior, is infused with the sense of helplessness to the point that it is second nature. Severe and often violent opposition to advancement of the downtrodden by the dominant peoples usually elicits and preserves this sense. Once this injustice is fully assimilated by society, the inferior race usually capitulates to the majority and begins to withdraw into its allotted place in the world.

Earlier, I mentioned the two outcomes of a person's minority group being oppressed. I also stated that the vast majority of the people in the group simply curb their expectations and desires so as not to incur the wrath of the superordinates. The others refuse to be held down by the powerful. I am one of these people.


	2. Chapter 2

While Cornerian schools were not segregated, there was most definitely a divide between the races. As a young child, I did not understand the treatment I received. Looking back at my naivety, I am forced to laugh. The absurdity of my thoughts while trying to ascertain the reasons that seem so obvious now is mind-blowing. I digress. My parents tried their best to shelter me from the hatred of others as long as they could; I have come to regard it as a pathetic gesture towards keeping my mind-set unbiased. In the end, I think it only served in fueling my desire to show the world my might. I was not to be someone's subservient wretch. As early as my first year in school, I was beset by racial epithets and curses. The most common derogatory remarks were, "monkey-boy" and "stupid simian." It was my first taste of rejection without cause. It was also my first taste of the emotional disparagement that has driven me ever since, the desire to become superior to those who have attempted to throttle my advancement.

My desire to outdo my oppressors may seem hypocritical; rest assured, it is only because of the language used. Most people would argue that by striving to become superior, I am simply practicing reverse racism. Fortunately, this is not the case. Throughout my life, I have received nothing but insults, unfair treatment, unfair pay, stolen credit for discoveries and doors of opportunity opened to everyone except me. I sought to succeed despite the malicious roadblocks that had been thrown in my path at every turn.

As a child, I excelled in all of my classes despite my teacher's sincerest attempts to humiliate, belittle and, above all, fail me. This was only the smallest of my troubles. Unfortunately for me, the 'Domino Effect' always seemed to be following me wherever I went. My foremost memories of this treatment reach back to my second year. The teacher had asked the class question about the day's lecture. Everyone had gotten a relatively simple question, such as, "When was the Cornerian Republic founded?" or, "Who was the first President of Corneria?" When it came my turn, she asked me, "What were the circumstances that made it possible for the Cornerian Republic to form into a single cohesive entity with enough centralized power to mint it's own money and raise its own armies?" with an open smirk of contempt. I must admit, that was difficult question. I would wager that the majority of today's adults couldn't answer it satisfactorily. At that age, I had a healthy hunger for historical knowledge; it showed. To Ms. Wonecki's dismay, I described in relatively abstract detail how the economic ruin and drought that devastated the world set the stage for all of the world's leaders to come to the table and forged a new, plural, government. Later in my life, I had realized that the world, at the moment, had the greatest collection of reasonable minds at the helm than at any other period in known history. After regaining her composure, Ms. Wonecki proceeded to tear my answer to shreds with a plethora of details that I "forgot" to say. I believe her words were thus, "The most half-baked answer I've heard in my life…" It was a galvanizing moment for me. Even being an eight year old, (they held me back in 1st year because I was, "dim-witted") I knew that she had just cheated me. Eventually, she moved on to other students and, mercifully, class was let out for recess where I was promptly beaten by the other children and called the normal repertoire of racial epithets. It was here that my competitive fires were ignited. No longer would my educational pursuits be hobby driven. Now, they were now impelled by something much deeper... tarnishing the 'superior' title. For the rest of my school days I took my frustration out on the text.

After I had suffered through ten long years of numerous beatings, insults and cruelty of the Cornerian Public School System, I was finally ready to transcend into the realm of upper education. Or so I thought. It quickly became apparent that my life was not about to get easier. As it turned out, in order to be permitted to proceed beyond tenth year of the school system, I had to get the very teachers that had tried their utmost to hinder my progression's written recommendation. Having managed to impress him with my high degree of knowledge and general intelligence, Dr. Shanihn gladly offered to endorse me.

Of all my professors, that I had undergone tutelage from, only one had ever conducted himself with any degree of reputability. He was a man of principle, a man of honesty and a man who treated everyone the same... poorly. Dr. Shanihn was/is the epitome of everything that is virtuous about Corneria, which is precious little in the ultimate scheme of things. He was fair, firm and above all, biased only against willful ignorance. In retrospect, it must have taken a lot of courage and integrity to do what he did. No matter how many times the students openly called him an 'Ape-Lover,' he simply gave them detention with full knowledge that the powers that be would overturn his disciplinary action. His only objective was to teach the students science, no matter how they resisted. It was my thirst for knowledge that first caught his attention. So often it was that I requested information above and beyond that which was taught in class, we quickly set up a time after school to "tutor" me. Sadly, I never realized that doing so would only fuel the other children's capacity for jests that suggested my stupidity. They wore blinders when it came to the fact that I always knew all the answers in class. The absurdity of it all, in retrospect, was hysterical.

I would have been genuinely content with only Dr. Shanihn's recommendation, but he took it upon himself to ensure my continuation into higher education. I needed three recommendations from past instructors merely to be considered for progression. I am not sure what he had done to get Prof. Duncan and Dr. Atesll to recommend me. I was forced to turn my ear onto the cogs of the local gossip juggernaut to get information from which to dissect and discern the truth. I was able to conclude with reasonable certainty that he blackmailed one and creditionarily bribed the other. He had threatened to turn Duncan in for fraternizing with his students and agreed to give Dr. Atesll the whole of the non-monetary credit for a joint research project.


	3. Chapter 3

In their off time from teaching, the science professors routinely performed studies in their various fields. The summer before, both Dr. Shanihn and Dr. Atesll had done some research on one of the oldest genetic mysteries still in existence. There were several genetic code sequences that, as confided to me by Shanihn himself, if used in concurrent gene therapies, would induce the reptilian ability of limb and tissue regeneration without hybridizing the subject. For many years they have spliced large reptilian DNA sections into other animals' and give them regeneration, it had many side effects. It caused the recipient to become a sterile hybrid. Its application was also limited. Because of the nature of the splicing, it had to be done while the subject was still a zygote. If it were to be spliced later on, the resulting cells would be a heterogeneous mixture of spliced and natural DNA. Because of the new DNA, the membrane bound peptidoglycan strands that the cells use to recognize the difference between self and foreign cells were so different that neither type could recognize the other as self and commenced cytotoxic and helper T-cell proliferation as well as stimulating increased phagocytic activity among their macrophages. This nearly always resulted in a self-aborting fetus. Sadly, the survivors were misshapen monsters that were short lived.

Often, I felt pangs of sadness and guilt over those poor creatures. It was easy to empathize with their plight. After all, it was not that different from my own. They were held captive in a role they did not choose. The difference between themselves and I was that of degrees. They suffered as I did, except countless times worse. Upon seeing pictures of these test subjects in a scientific journal, I resolved never to conduct experiments of their kind. Further, I vowed to do everything in my power to stop others from conducting them as well. Thus, my admiration for Dr. Shanihn grew. Not only did he never become involved in such testing, he also was attempting to make them obsolete with his battery of case studies. All of which involved only willing subjects.


End file.
